Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 731: Theonia v Carthage (I)

Ansitanos continued, “Also, His Majesty Davos has asked me to remind you that the war between Theonia and Samnite is between warriors, so we will not take it out on you if we suffer more casualties. But if! If you Samnites ever dare to turn your weapons on the unarmed people of Theonia and hurt them wantonly. In that case, we will not hesitate to rain down our fury of vengeance on the Samnite region and make your people taste an even crueller fate! Remember the tragic end of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily, and his hired cavalry!”

Though the Samnite envoy seemed unfazed by Ansitanos' warnings and threats, a shadow began to form over his heart.

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At the same time, Ansitanos delivered Davos' apology to Alexius since Davos' agreement would add thousands of troops to the Samnite army, which would inevitably cause more trouble for the Theonian army in the Dauni region.

Alexius, however, asked Ansitanos to bring his message to reassure King Davos that this deal would not affect the army. On the contrary, they will now have more Samnites to capture.

Soon after, Davos' words spread throughout the Dauni region, fuelled by Ansitanos. Some time passed, and the captured Daunians were released one by one, making the Daunians more grateful to King Davos, more proud to be Theonians, and naturally more loyal to the kingdom of Theonia and more united against the Samnites.

Moreover, this incident affected not only the Daunians but also the neighbouring Peucetians and the Messapians.

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While Alexius and his army were on their way to Dauni, Leotychides in Sicily also led the army towards Minoa.

Along the way, the many Greek city-states such as Kamarina, Gela, Pachynus and Agrigento warmly welcomed the Theonian army… They were delighted by Theonia's change of plan by bravely taking the initiative and came out to meet the Carthaginian army already closing in on them. Thus not only did they provide them with ample food supplies, but they also sent their citizen soldiers, causing the army to swell rapidly from fifteen thousand men when they left to over thirty-two thousand men by the time they reached Minoa.

As the Theonian army advanced along the coast with great fanfare, they attracted the attention of the Carthaginian scouts. As a result, the Carthaginian army stopped their attack on Minoa and instead concentrated on fortifying their camp.

With the Theonian army approaching, Muntebaal began to feel uneasy, so he sent messengers back to Lilybaeum several times and asked the lord of Lilybaeum to immediately organise the physically fit citizens of the Carthaginian colonies in Sicily and the Phoenician city-states. He then asked Sakarzidon to send them to the Carthaginian camp in Minoa immediately in addition to the Sicanian army.

When the Theonian army finally arrived at Minoa, Muntebaal had withdrawn the Carthaginian army to the camp on the west bank of the Platani river.

But instead of attacking immediately or accepting the Minoan’s invitation, Leotychides ordered a survey of the area and began building a camp on a hill not far north of Minoa.

The two sides' camps were separated by the Platani River, about two kilometres away. For a few days, there was peace.

Because of that, Leotychides' men and the allied strategoi were puzzled about why he was still not allowing them to attack. So he explained, “Not only do we have fewer troops than the Carthaginians, but their camp is quite well defended. If we attack them, we have little chance of victory and will just suffer massive casualties. We should instead wait for the Carthaginians to attack and take advantage of our defences to kill many enemies and ultimately defeat them.”

“But the Carthaginians still haven't attacked us!” said Miciades, the strategos of Agrigento in doubt.

Leotychides smiled as he said confidently, “Our king, His Majesty Davos, has said that this war with Carthage will be long. But the longer we delay the war, the longer Theonia will be able to shake off the effects of the drought and restore our food supply. By then, we can send more troops to Sicily and fight a decisive battle with Carthage… So there is no need for us to be in a hurry. Instead, we will just let the ignorant Carthaginians continue to waste the time that would otherwise be in their favour.”

But there's another point that Leotychides didn't mention: Most of the food supply for his tens of thousands of troops came from the Greek city-states on the south coast, which significantly reduced the pressure on the food supply of Theonia's territory in Sicily.

“But…the Carthaginians may continue to increase their forces and launch a fierce attack on us!” said Boriades, the strategos of Minoa, who had come to the military conference and was still worried.

“That’s why I ask you to carefully plan your defences according to the standards of Theonia when building your camp so you could withstand the attack of the Carthaginian army!” Leotychides said sternly, “Moreover, with the Carthaginians concentrating their troops in Minoa, they would leave their rear defence relatively empty and allow the fleet to attack their rear. In addition, the more enemies gathered here, the greater their need for food and the more frequent their grain shipments, making it easier for the Sikeloi to target their grain caravans and cut off their transport routes. And once such a massive army runs out of food, only defeat awaits them even without us attacking!”

Leotychides' explanation temporarily relieved the concern of their allied strategoi.

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In the command tent of the Carthaginian camp, Muntebaal, who had never set foot on the battlefield, explained to Milkpilles, “The reason we're not attacking is the information we've received from the scouts that the Theonian army numbers over thirty thousand, with most of them heavy infantry. On the other hand, even though we have ten thousand more troops than them, half of them are lowly Numidians! You already saw how the Numidians fought when they attacked Minoa, so I don't think they stand a chance against the Greek heavy infantry, even though we outnumber them! So we need more soldiers, a real, brave, noble Carthaginian soldier or a Phoenician soldier-”

“But you still have the ten thousand infantry of the Sacred Band under your command. We're enough to defeat much more Greek heavy infantries, so you have nothing to fear!” Milkpilles said proudly.

“You are right!” said Muntebaal, “There is no doubt about the skill and courage of the Sacred Band's infantry, and I have every confidence that you will be able to defeat the Theonians. However, placing the burden on all your shoulders will result in your troops suffering more casualties! But you must remember that the Sacred Band were the best of our Carthaginian citizens, and our goal is not just this battle but the conquest of all of Sicily and even an expedition to Magna Graecia. That's why I must preserve you, the best army of Carthage, and make good use of your powerful army! Therefore, I urge Sakarzidon to organise more Carthaginian or Phoenician soldiers to strengthen our forces so that we can crush the Theonians more easily!”

Muntebaal's speech immediately convinced Milkpilles. Still, he hesitated momentarily and said, “…maybe we can recall Hasdrubal's army.”

But when Muntebaal heard that, he shook his head like a rattle, “No! No! No! Milkpilles, you still don't understand! In the first place, Hasdrubal refused to obey orders and wanted to act independently. If we ask him to return now, it will give him the false impression that we can't do anything without the Iberian army, making him even more arrogant. Then it won't be us commanding him, but him commanding us!

Before leaving, Lord Hanno warned me repeatedly that the command of the Carthaginian army could only belong to his faction, not to the Magonids, and that the glory of winning this war could only be shared between us, not by the Iberians!”

In fact, Milkpilles regretted his words as soon as he uttered them. How could he not know what Muntebaal had said? So he could only remain silent.

Muntebaal continued, “And what we desperately need now is not Hasdrubal's army; it's our navy! I don't know what's happened to our fleet since only the Theonian warships are sailing the seas these days! Where did our navy go? Milkpilles, I suggest you write immediately and urge Lord Hanno that we need the powerful Carthaginian navy to guard our empty rear or even to defeat the enemy fleet and attack their rear, leaving the Theonians vulnerable on both sides!..”

Milkpilles immediately realised the importance of this issue and agreed without hesitation.

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Thus, the Theonian and Carthaginian forces delayed the battle as long as possible to prepare better.

The two massive camps stretched more than four kilometres from north to south and two kilometres from east to west, and from the highest hill on which the Theonian camp stood, you could even see the central tent of the Carthaginian camp to the west. With so many soldiers in such proximity and given the nature of the city-state army, the generals failed to control the citizen soldiers fully. Thus, a minor clash or friction would often happen, resulting in the war taking an unexpected direction.

It was the second month of the fourteenth year of the Kingdom of Theonia (379 BC). Although it was still spring, the weather had already gotten hotter in some Mediterranean coastal cities and towns, especially on this day when the temperature in Minoa suddenly rose several degrees. And by the afternoon, the ground was scorching hot, causing many soldiers of both the Theonian allies and the Carthaginians to be unable to bear the discomfort and thirst caused by the heat. Thus they ran out of their respective camps to fetch water and even bathe in the river Platani near their respective camps.

The Platani is a small river, with an average width of fewer than twenty metres, and in some sections as little as ten metres, except the one near the sea, where it is more than thirty metres wide. Moreover, it gently flows down on flat land, where the water is only knee-deep.

This meant that the soldiers on each side were only about ten metres apart, so they could see what the other side looked like and hear what they were saying.